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Wednesday, July 11, 2012

SPOILERS: Batgirl #11

On the rooftop with Knightfall, and her band of "disgraced," Katharsis, Bleak Michael and Bonebreaker, Knightfall does the typical "join us Batgirl, we're actually the good guys!" sort of villain deal, but of course, Babs has nothing of it, and offers some prompt ass kickings.

Babs fends off the Disgraced well enough, but is eventually beaten out by the fact that none of them will stay down. Being choked out by Backbreaker, Knightfall begins to approach Babs with a sinister looking blade.

Elsewhere! Alysia is coming home from a date, a tad bit drunk... with James Gordon Jr. James asks Alysia where her roommate is, and of course Babs is nowhere to be found, so he's invited in. As Alysia falls onto a couch, James tells her he has a gift for her in his car... UH OH! As he comes back... he's got a cat... named Alaska... THE HORROR!

With Knightfall's blade inches away from Babs' chest, things don't look good for Babs, but surprisingly, Detective "I hate Batgirl" McKenna shows up, telling Charise (Knightfall, if you hadn't made that assumption from #10 yet) to back off. Knightfall seems a bit familiar with McKenna, noticing how she's trembling holding her gun. Nevertheless, at the threat of gunfire, Bonebreaker lets Babs go, and McKenna grabs her, as they bail out of there, into McKenna's car.

In the car, McKenna asks Babs how much she knows about Charise, and we get the standard back story, rich parents, they were brutally murdered, Charise claims she was forced to watch, but police never found evidence of anyone being in the house that night other than her, so she gets sent to Arkham. Turns out during her stay in Arkham, there was a large breakout, where 20 guards were held hostage, and Charise, a normal teenage girl by all means, was left to mingle with her fellow inmates, unattended, an event that wound change her.

At this point, the two of them are in McKenna's house, as McKenna offers Batgirl a drink. When she's in the kitchen, Babs has a question, mainly why she has three state of the art computers side by side, how she knew to be on the roof that night, why there are pictures everywhere with her and a man, where there is only one empty drink out, and why Knightfall seemed familiar with her. Here's when things get weird, McKenna pops out of the kitchen, gun drawn, demanding to know who Batgirl is working with, the DEO, Medusa, etc. Babs manages to pin McKenna to the ground, demanding to know her connection with Knightfall.

Turns out, McKenna's husband was in the riot, one of the hostages. McKenna managed to switch places with one of the SWAT team members, and they went in hard, total blood bath. She went ahead of the other SWAT members to find her husband being held hostage, she froze up, while Random Arkham Inmate #15 killed her husband, all while Charise watched in the background. After Charise was released due to an appeal thanks to suspected jury tampering, she started to call people, and McKenna one of those people, assuming for whatever plans she had. Also, apparently she has one of Batgirl's "People" as in a mole in the bat family? I think? I don't know... it's implied Batwoman, as she's on the last page, talking to someone, ready to go into McKenna's house.

END.

Alright, so I thought this was a pretty good issue, right up until the final scene in the apartment. But, prior to that, what we had was a confident Batgirl, kicking some ass, no woe is me nonsense, and over all just being enjoyable. Everything I want from this book, is that, exactly. Then there was the James Jr. scene... obvious foreshadowing, but quite honestly, it was so weird and random, I just wish it wasn't there. My suspension of disbelief isn't kicking in on that one. James Gordon Sr. is the Commissioner... and no one has told him, or his family that he's psychotic murderer son is on the loose yet? Really? Then we get back to the bulk, McKenna shows up, something obviously up with her, cool... then it all turns at the point where McKenna pulls her gun on Batgirl. I just didn't understand that reaction, it really threw me for a loop... what in anything Babs said, would make McKenna go "WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?! THE DEO?!" let alone the cultist group Medusa. It was just weird... then the implications that Batwoman is a mole? I just... it's just all weird to me. I don't know.

But, I will say, I liked this issue just fine, and the book really seems to be improving, at least in my opinion it is. Hopefully next issue will clear up some of that confusion I had.

RATING: 3/5

(note, I probably would have given it a 3.5 if I did half scores, I thought it was a little better than you're average 3, but rules is rules)